


Gift

by kafrickinboom



Series: Voltron WLW Month [12]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Genderbending, Gift, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Mild Angst, Pre-Relationship, Shiro (Voltron) Needs a Hug, VLD WLW Month, Voltron WLW Month 2017, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 09:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11779923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kafrickinboom/pseuds/kafrickinboom
Summary: She didn’t want or need a huge birthday party or all of the traditional fanfare or whatever. She didn’t need birthday hats and streamers and balloons and decorations. She didn’t need presents or even a smorgasbord of her favorite foods like the others had all gotten.She maybe would’ve liked a “happy birthday” or two.Something.





	Gift

**Author's Note:**

> I've been unsure about my fics lately, y'all. I hope you like this little one.

In the midst of battle after battle after battle with the Galra, Shiro’s birthday quietly passed by without anyone the wiser. Not that she minded! She understood that other things had a much higher priority that something as unimportant as her turning another year older.

Still, she thought it would have been nice to had  _ some _ sort of celebration like Hunk had just last month. Shiro loved watching the younger girl’s face light up, joyous and appreciative as she looked around the table at all of her friends. 

Honestly, Hunk was probably the most adorable creature in the entire universe with her chin length, “Korra-style” haircut (that she’d flick away from her eyes with a cheesy wink), her big, brown, puppy-dog eyes and her button nose that somehow softened her strong jawline. When her beams as brightly as she had on her birthday, her dimples stood out in her rounded cheeks. She’s built entirely of all things  _ cute, _ and Shiro really couldn’t fault herself for the way her heart fluttered whenever she was around.

Anyway. Shiro snapped out of that line of thought. She didn’t want Lance or Pidge (or Allura, the traitor) to draw attention otherwise they’d definitely call out her blush, and Shiro’s of the unfortunate variety that only turns redder when someone brings attention to it. She forced her mind to shift her thoughts back to what has been bothering her for almost a full week now- her birthday.

She didn’t want or need a huge birthday party or all of the traditional fanfare or whatever. She didn’t need birthday hats and streamers and balloons and decorations. She didn’t need presents or even a smorgasbord of her favorite foods like the others had all gotten. 

She maybe would’ve liked a “happy birthday” or two.  _ Something. _

The others were in the middle of a debate about something trivial like who the best pop punk band of the 2000s was or who had better hair (well, it was mostly Keith and Lance, but Pidge wasn’t doing anything to stop them, smiling and egging them on each time the other made a new argument while Allura watched in barely concealed amusement)- something stupid that neither Shiro nor Hunk was paying attention.  

So deep in her thoughts, Shiro didn’t notice any of the half-worried, half-contemplative looks Hunk was shooting her from down the table. 

When dinner was over, Shiro helped clean up as she usually did, bringing the dishes to the kitchen to do them by hand. She’d always found the motions a nostalgic kind of soothing when she was feeling a little down. She’d just have to shake it off. There was always next year, right?

A cleared throat from her right startled her. She whirled around with her soapy hands in a defensive position, a habit she hadn’t quite learned to quell just yet. She knew she was safe here. She knew that someone sneaking up on her wasn’t an immediate threat. She knew that no one here wanted to hurt her. And yet, her mind was still hardwired to react dramatically to anything that spooked her, and she sent another of infinite mental curses to the Galra for ruining her. 

Looking at Hunk’s wide eyes edging on panicked, flicking between her face and her unactivated Galra arm, she immediately relaxed, wincing at scaring the yellow paladin yet again. She knew Hunk had the hardest time coming to terms with Shiro’s...past. She was the jumpiest around Shiro’s arm, and the most sensitive to her moods. Shiro wasn’t sure if it was because Hunk just genuinely cared or if she was just that genuinely terrified of the possibility of triggering her arm’s weaponized setting (even though she’d never used it against any of the team, and she’d gotten a lot better at controlling it in battle). Hunk was also just the most sensitive in the bunch altogether, and Shiro never wanted to be someone who put fear in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro sighed with a wince. 

“Ah, it’s alright,” Hunk smiled, waving her hand as if to bat away Shiro’s apology. “Everything alright? You looked a little bummed back there.”

Shiro pursed her lips. She hadn’t realized she was so transparent. “I’m fine,” and when Hunk didn’t look convinced, she added, “I’m just tired, I guess.”

“If you say so,” Hunk trailed off, the furrow between her brows speaking more of her disbelief than her tone. “Let me help you.”

“You really don’t have to-” but it was a futile effort because Hunk just gently knocked her hip against Shiro’s nudging her over a little so she could set to dry the dishes Shiro had washed.

“You do know we have a dishwasher, right?” Hunk remarked, playful and easy as if the tension from just a minute ago hadn’t even happened. 

“Uh. Yeah, I just like the work. Keeps me grounded, I guess. That probably sounds stupid.” Shiro shook her head with a smile that felt more like a grimace, but Hunk’s smile just softened.

“Nah. It doesn’t sound stupid. My thing is baking and cooking. Lance’s thing is joking around and hanging with Blue. Keith’s thing is training. Pidge’s thing is tech. Your thing is cleaning. We all need things that help us relax.” She said, her tone growing thoughtful, “though I really don’t get how fighting relaxes Keith...but whatever works works, right?”

Shiro huffed a laugh, “I guess you’re right.”

“I usually am,” Hunk declared with a smug, little smile. 

Shiro rolled her eyes at her friend’s cheek, almost on par with Lance’s. No wonder they were best friends, she thought amusedly as she knocked her hip into Hunk’s playfully. 

She missed the pink rising in Hunk’s flush, returning to the task at hand.

They washed and dried while talking about nothing of import, things like the foods they could live off of forever (Shiro wasn’t surprised that Hunk had difficulty choosing just one), their shared (unapologetic) love of romance novels, and their astrological signs (Hunk had been surprised by Shiro’s enthusiastic conversational turn into Japanese Shukuyo astrology, but grew fond when Shiro mentioned it had been something her grandmother taught her when she was younger)...which had led to Hunk freezing beside Shiro.

“Wait...you’re a Pisces? When’s your birthday? It should be coming up, right?” Hunk looked at Shiro curiously, her brow pinching when Shiro just shrugged, saying her birthday had already passed. 

“What do you mean it’s already passed?” Hunk asked, her face falling to a frown as she put the last dried dish into the cabinet above her. 

“Things have been pretty crazy around here. It’s not a big deal,” Shiro said, but Hunk must have caught the strain around her mouth because suddenly she was whirled around and pulled into Hunk’s arms, held tightly in a hug that Shiro relaxed to without question. She wrapped her human arm around the other woman, her Galra arm hanging heavy beside her. 

“Come on, now. A hug involves all arms available.” Hunk murmured into Shiro’s ear, and Shiro hoped to gods that Hunk didn’t feel the resulting shiver or hear hear thick swallow. Hesitantly, Shiro wrapped her metal arm around the yellow paladin and was rewarded with a contented sigh. 

“I’m so sorry we missed your birthday. Even when things get hectic, it shouldn’t be hard to do a little something for you.” Hunk said, and...was that a nuzzle against Shiro’s neck? “I’ll make it up to you.”

Shiro squeezed Hunk a bit tighter, pressing her building smile against the woman’s shoulder. “You really don’t have to do that. It’s fine, I promise.”

Hunk pulled away, but kept an arm around Shiro as she brushed the bright, white locks that had fallen away from Shiro’s face. She eyed the flush suffusing Shiro’s face with affectionate amusement as she shook her head.

“You’re something, you know that? It’s not  _ fine _ that we forgot your birthday. You’ve done so much for us. You’ve made us all better people just by being around. Lance is still working on it, but he wouldn’t be anywhere near as confident if you didn’t give him all those pep talks and training lessons. Keith would probably still be an angsty emo kid who doesn’t talk to anyone about his problems ever. Pidge...I know for a fact that they appreciate you for doing what you could for their family while you were, ah...gone, and I know they love you for not giving up on them. 

You’ve taught me to get ahold of my anxiety, to not be so damn scared of everything. You’ve made me realize how much being on this team means to me. You’re a gift to this team, to your friends, t-to  _ me. _ The least we can do is celebrate the day the gods put you on Earth.” Hunk said easily, like it didn’t make the air rush from Shiro’s lungs, like it didn’t make Shiro’s heart burst with affection, like it didn’t make Shiro want to never leave Hunk’s embrace.

Whatever Hunk said about  _ Shiro _ being a gift, she clearly didn’t see how much of a gift  _ she _ was to  _ Shiro. _ This woman who was loyal and patient with her friends, cares deeply for their well-being, fed them, whose anxiety had never stopped her from doing what needed to be done, who made sure no one felt out of place in the team when Shiro had failed to notice they felt that way. She did so much for the others that sometimes it felt like Hunk got left to the wayside, and she still gave her all to her friends.

Shiro bit her lip on a fond smile, noting the determination in Hunk’s face. There wasn’t anything she could do to stop the yellow paladin from going forward with her plans now that she made up her mind. 

On impulse, Shiro pressed forward, brushing her lips over Hunk’s, just a light caress of skin, before pulling away entirely with a nervous smile. She instantly regretted it, noting the shock in Hunk’s expression.

“I-I’m sorry. Ah, thank you, Hunk,” Shiro whispered, turning in an about-face and booking it from the room with a burning face for Hunk could regain the wherewithal to stop her.

\---

Shiro hadn’t noticed the smile, rising slow and blindingly bright as a sunrise, spreading across Hunk’s face as she left, or the way Hunk’s fingers touched her lips in awe of what had just happened. In her room she wouldn’t notice the little dance Hunk did or hear the giggle escaping Hunk’s lips. She wouldn’t hear the whispered, “did that happen?”

Hunk grinned. Shiro had no idea what was in store for her this weekend. Not only was she going to have her damned birthday party, but she was going to get so many gifts- and one of them would be Hunk herself.

She had some planning to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Next up: f!Klance, "Future"


End file.
